The Alaskans hit the road in Aus
The Alaska Travel Industry Association has hit the Aussie East Coast cities, with the sounds of mush, mush ringing in my ears as operators embark on the quest to eradicate some of the misconceptions about Alaska, while also trying to drive more business from Australia.
The Mole spoke with Andrew Larsen Mission Leader and Travel Trade and International Marketing Manager for the Association, who said that Australia is one of the largest international markets for Alaska, way behind the USA, but very significant nevertheless, with 25,000 Aussies visiting Alaska ever year.
He added, “Most visitors to Alaska come by cruises vessel but our research shows that there is increasing demand for getting off the beaten trail and experience everything Alaska has to offer and also that Alaska is about much more than Anchorage or Fairbanks”.
“Misconceptions about Alaska include that it is always cold and frozen all year round, but this is totally untrue, with Fairbanks getting to over 30C in the summer”. “The summers are great with very long days – if you tell the kids to make sure they are home by dark, you may not see them until September!”
“Another misconception is that it is too expensive, but adding land package on to a cruise or just visiting to discover this massive state is very cost effective with many Aussie operators offering great package deals.”
Andrew added, “I find it very distressing that Aussies come all that way and do not discover our spectacular interior”.
“We have also introduced a new specialist agents programme called ACE, which stands for Alaska Credited Expert and while we did have a previous scheme, money became the barrier.” “The new programme is free of charge, on line and in 4 sections, which should take about 3hrs per section, with successful agents featuring in our new web site for consumer to select.”
Further information on Alaska and ACE can be obtained on line from: www.travelalaska.com and www.Alaskatia.org
In addition, agents can contact Alaska’s excellence representatives in Australia, Intergra Marketing and in particular their excellent Alaska Representative Australia, Leeanne Dyer by phone at +61 2 9959 4042 or by email to [email protected]
Interview by The Mole with Andrew Larsen of the Alaska Travel Industry Association.
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